KINGSTON, Jamaica – First-time People’s National Party (PNP) councillor-elect for the Duhaney Park Division in St Andrew East Central, Michelle Thomas, says she plans to “hit the ground running” when she is sworn in as councillor come Thursday.

Thomas, won 65.66 per cent of the votes in last week Monday’s local government election, defeated Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate Joseph Gregory.

In an interview with the Observer Online, Thomas outlined the areas she intends to tackle.

“First of all, Duhaney Park Proper is a section of Duhaney Park that needs attention. The roads are in serious disrepair and people have been crying out for assistance with infrastructure development,” she said.

“The state of the road has been like that for centuries, even from when I was a baby. So, that’s one of the things that I’m looking to do in my early tenure is to ensure that at the very least, I address some of these roads,” Thomas added.

She went on to say that the New Haven community is also a problem area that she will be seeking to address due to it being flood-prone.

“We have a serious problem when rain falls. The entire community is flooded and that is because the river that runs through the community needs to be cleaned,” Thomas explained.

Nevertheless, Thomas, who is also an attorney-at-law, said she is very pleased that the people in her division decided to put their trust in her.

She also revealed that she is overjoyed to be able to actualise her childhood dream of becoming a politician.

“I always wanted to be a politician. I feel as though lawyers and politicians both represent people and the jobs are intertwined, I believe that a good lawyer makes a great politician. I feel both professions complement each other…I went to St Andrew High School for Girls and I have a copy of my last year book, and you know in your yearbook you say what you want to become? In my yearbook, you will see attorney-at-law and politician,” a beaming Thomas said.

As such, she said, “My message to any young person is that don’t ever be afraid of dreaming big and realising your own manifestation because it’s surreal for me but it tells me if it is that I can make something that I’d always wanted to become, then the sky’s the limit.”

The local government election, held on February 26, was held for the first time in eight years. Only 29.6 per cent of the more than two million registered voters turned out, which is a slight decline from the 30.06 per cent for 2016, according to the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.

-Candice Haughton